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All The Definitive Prisons Information You Need From The Publisher Experts Trust
‘The excellent Prison Oracle provides a window into the Prison system which is immensely valuable – and as important today as it has ever been” Michael Spurr, CEO HM Prison & Probation Service (2010-2019)
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Our Critically Acclaimed Publications
The Prisons Handbook 2025
The 26th annual edition, The Prisons Handbook 2025, published on 20 October 2024 – is the definitive 1,400-page annual guide to the prison systems of England and Wales that has been fully revised and updated.
“The Prisons Handbook continues to be essential reading, providing a comprehensive understanding of the prison system and rightly sits in every prison library.” Amy Rees (2024). Director General Chief Executive Officer of HM Prison & Probation Service – quoted from her Foreword to The Prisons Handbook 2025.
The Prison Law Index 2025
The 8th Edition (2025) is published 15th July 2024. £39.99 inc FREE Delivery*! Prison Law is a hugely important subject, affecting the rights and liberties of over 80,000 people every single day – yet its sources are spread around a plethora of places from statute, to statutory instruments, prison service orders, prison service instructions, advice to governors, circular instructions, standing orders and Policy Frameworks….. and the highly popular Prison Law Index brings all those sources together within one book!
Converse News: December 2024
Now in our 18th year, Converse is the 40-page largest circulation national monthly prisons news paper for England and Wales – delivered to prisons in print format every month, it is also available digitally in both public and private prisons with in-cell technology and downloaded to over 2,500 offline inmate educational laptops in almost 100 prisons too!
The Cell Companion 2025
The 8th Edition (2025) is published 15th July 2024. £39.99 inc FREE Delivery*! Written, edited and published by reformed offenders this is not an academic reference book but a highly practical guide to serving & surviving a prison sentence in England and Wales by those who have been there. It covers legal rights, housing, family, healthcare, personal injury, vulnerable prisoners, and difficult issues too – like sex in prison, self-harm, avoiding gangs, extremism, the dangers of debt, bullying and the fatal dangers of ‘legal highs’.
“This excellent book should be on every bed, in every cell, in every jail in the country”
INSTITUTE OF PRISON LAW
CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY IN PRISON LAW 2025
The 2025 updated edition of this acclaimed eight-module comprehensive course in prison law is now available – devised, written and updated by expert prison lawyers renown in their field, since 2006.
Prisons Org UK Ltd is one of a handful of Approved Ministry of Justice Book and Newspaper Retailers
This means we are approved not only to send into prisons our own books and newspapers direct to prisoners but that, additionally, we’re also approved to source publications from other non-approved publishers too.
FEATURED PUBLICATION
The Prisons Handbook 2025
Published 20 October 2024 is the definitive 1,400-page annual reference book on the prison system of England and Wales
“The Prisons Handbook continues to be essential reading, providing a comprehensive understanding of the prison system and rightly sits in every prison library” Amy Rees (2024). Director General Chief Executive Officer of HM Prison & Probation Service – quoted from her Foreword to The Prisons Handbook 2025.
“A highly reliable resource, providing accurate information about our prison system for over 25 years” Phil Wheatley CB (2023). Former Director General of both HM Prison Service and the National Offender Management Service.
The Prisons Handbook & Oracle:
“The Prisons Handbook has for many years been an excellent example of clear effective communication providing a comprehensive guide to prisons for prisoners, their families and for practitioners across the Criminal Justice System. Alongside the equally excellent Prison Oracle website it provides a window into the Prison system which is immensely valuable – and as important today as it has ever been!”
FEATURED PUBLICATION
Prison Law Index 2025
8th Edition Published 15th July 2024.
£39.99 inc FREE Delivery! Prison Law is a hugely important subject, affecting the rights and liberties of over 88,000 people every single day – yet its sources are spread around a plethora of places from statute, to statutory instruments, prison service orders, prison service instructions, advice to governors, circular instructions, standing orders and Policy Frameworks….. and the highly popular Prison Law Index brings all those sources together within one book!
Prison Law Index
“Prison Law Index is a remarkable and much needed book which should prove invaluable to prisoners and legal practitioners alike.”
FEATURED PUBLICATION
The Cell Companion 2025
8th Edition. Published 15th July 2024
£39.99 inc FREE Delivery! From reception to release, the book covers legal rights, housing, family, healthcare, personal injury, vulnerable prisoners, and it tackles the difficult issues too – like sex in prison, self-harm, avoiding gangs, extremism, the dangers of debt, bullying and the real danger of drugs and especially the potentially fatal ‘legal highs’.
Whether you are going to prison or are already there, this is the book for you and your family, friends and legal advisers too.
The Prison Oracle:
“Hugely impressive – I can’t think of a more detailed site and important fund of information about the prison system and it’s right up to date – a great achievement” (November 2023)
The Prison Oracle:
I’m impressed at how comprehensive it is.
An excellent collection of Data and Information, I’m impressed at how comprehensive it is. A bonus is access to Reports like Woolf, Woodcock, May, Learmont and others before the Internet and difficult to otherwise access. The data is user-friendly, useful for research and easy to use with access to data on the Prison Population, Safety in Custody, and Workforce Statistics easier to access and use than on the Government’s own website. A very helpful, comprehensive, user friendly source of information on prison issues.
The Prison Oracle:
‘The’ Go-To Place for Everything Prison Related.
The sheer depth of available information, coupled with a simple user interface, makes The Prison Oracle ‘the’ go-to place for everything that is in any way prison related. There’s a vast array of publications, alongside historic reports that you simply can’t find anywhere else online.
Having such a wealth of data at your fingertips, without the need to trawl the internet for hours, is exactly why I subscribed. The Prison Oracle is a tangible learning resource for anyone with an interest in the justice section; I urge you to take a look for yourself.
The Prison Oracle:
An excellent collection of information, data and reports
The Prison Oracle, with everything about prisons all in one place, has long been needed and I’m delighted it’s finally arrived – I ‘ve subscribed and it’s such an excellent collection of information, data and reports for practitioners, justice professionals or anyone with an interest in justice issues or reform, I’ve no hesitation in recommending The Prison Oracle to all my Correctional Services colleagues. An added advantage is the simple access to reports that shaped the modern Prison Service – Woodcock, Woolf, Learmont, May, Carter, and Corston.
“I’ve spent considerable time pursuing The Prison Oracle and its extensive content and found it to be an incredibly useful source. What I like best about it, is the idea that the information is there at your fingertips, without the need to trawl through page after page of internet content. The site is user friendly and easy to navigate. Overall, for anyone interested in prisons, this is most certainly a valuable and convenient source.”
Jo Prescott, Lecturer in Criminology & PhD candidate (@Joprescott8)
‘Impressively Comprehensive’
Director General HM Prison Service (Ret)
‘Recommended without any hesitation’
Commissioner: Corrections Western Australia
‘A terrific service! Imagine if MOJ itself were this helpful and competent!”
Julian Le Vay: Former Finance Director HM Prison Service for England & Wales
‘The Go-To Place for everything prison-related’
MD: Census Life
‘Way better and faster than the HMPPS Intranet’
Custodial Manager: HMPPS
‘I can now download all the things I need in minutes’
Maureen J: Prison Librarian
‘Excellent, every IMB Member should subscribe to this’
Paul J: Independent Monitoring Board Member
‘Worth every single penny’
DB: former Long-Term, Prisoner
‘Needed for years’
MCB: former Long-Term Prisoner
‘OMG Saved me hours of endless searching’
Vicky P: wife of IPP Prisoner
‘The best £2.50 a week I’ve ever spent’
Jeanne McC: mother of a Young Offender
‘Prisons org uk – you’ve done it again – brilliant’
Ashraf P: brother of a sister in prison
‘This is fantastic, I’ve just signed up and it’s so useful – thank you!’
Tammy Banks (Linkedin)
‘I’m blown away with what is available on The Prison Oracle”’
@Areformedman (Twitter)
Our Chief Executive
Mark Leech FRSA
Britain’s Leading Ex-Offender Expert on Prisons.
“The sanest, best-informed, commentator on prison issues”
Phil Wheatley, Chief Executive HM Prison Service
Mark Leech was taken into ‘Care’ at the age of 8 and like many Care-leavers later became involved in crime serving 14 years in a prison career characterised by roof-top protests and over 40 successful legal battles that changed British prison law. Mark was released from prison in March 1995 and has risen to become the country’s foremost ex-offender expert on the policy and practice of the penal system.
He is the Managing Editor of The Prisons Handbook, the definitive 1,600 page annual reference book on the penal system of England and Wales, he is the founder and former Chief Executive of the award-winning national charity for people with convictions UNLOCK, and the Editor of Converse; the largest circulation national monthly prisons newspaper – edited and published 100% by reformed offenders.
Mark is the Director of The Institute of Prison Law, whose acclaimed Certificate of Competency in Prison Law has been studied by thousands of lawyers, prison staff and prisoners too. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the National Union of Journalists and today he lives with his partner and two children among the beautiful mountains of Northern Thailand. Outside of work his interests are in aviation – Mark is a qualified helicopter pilot.
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Everything In One Place
The One Stop Shop For Everything ‘Prison’
Its all here, in one place, authoritative and from the publisher that experts trust.
Trusted Publications
Expert publications on Prisons from the publisher experts trust – we are a Ministry of Justice approved book retailer which means you can order with confidence
Breaking News
As an accredited news outlet we receive embargoed advance notice of new items before they are made public, which means you get them as soon as the embargo has passed – we also monitor all the breaking news on prisons too!
Expert Analysis
With 25 years experience we are experts on the practice and policies of prisons – our expert analysis will help you understand what new policies mean and how they fit in with current strategies.
Definitive Database
Our database gives you access to over 44,000 pages of information that’s up to date – from prison inspectorate reports, to freedom of information act requests and fatal incident reports from the prisons ombudsman.
Opening up the Closed World of Prisons
Trusted by thousands with a personal and professional interest in prisons for over 25 years!
The Prisons Handbook
“Much more than a book about prisons, this is a tour-de-force through current penal policy
and practice.”
Prison Service Journal
The Cell Companion
“Outstanding, tackles the deadly dangers of prison debts, drugs, gangs – a book by experts that’s been needed for years.”
Nick Leader, former Governor,
HMP Northumberland.
Converse Newspaper
“The best national monthly prisons newspaper by a mile, the only one edited and published by reformed offenders –
their experience shines through.”
Paul Ferris, ex-offender
(“The Wee Man” Movie)